What was life like for an American who spent most of his life training in Zen temples in Japan? The answer lies in these short stories by Martin Shotei Hughes, the man who experienced them, and became an abbot in his own temple near Osaka. He sent these stories to his American teacher, Glenn Taylor (Kangan) Webb, with a promise to send many more for publication. But sadly, Martin Hughes died in 2002 at age 45. He wanted people to laugh at his amazing experiences. Readers probably will. The stories are funny as hell.